Today’s recipe is a simple little dish that my my husband and I both love. You’ll note that I didn’t say my kids love it, because…well they’re kids, and I guess they just don’t yet appreciate brussel sprouts and horseradish I, on the other hand, love brussel sprouts and I’m always trying to put them into new dishes. I enjoy them raw, such as in this salad that I still make often. But I also love to roast them to add a little complexity to their flavor. Roasted Brussel sprouts alone can be a meal or a hearty side, but adding leftover braised beef and crimini mushrooms takes them from “boring vegetable” status in my husbands eyes to “that was an amazing meal”. Topping the entire dish with a delicious horseradish cream sauce made it perfect.

As a kid, my grandpa used to grow horseradish in his massive garden. He’d process it into a creamy version and my parents and grandparents would slather it on the homemade sausage. Like my kids, at the time I didn’t appreciate the horseradish… or the sausage, for that matter. The horseradish was strong– it had “bite” to it, as my grandpa would always say. I’m sure you’ve all made a beef roast and wanted to create something new with the leftovers. Well, this is a nice quick option. No leftover beef on hand? No problem– it will still be amazing without it. This meal only takes about 15-20 minutes to make and it’s so satisfying. Top it with a drizzle of the horseradish cream sauce and a few chopped hazelnuts (trust me on this) for crunch. It’s a perfect weeknight dinner and you can feel good about the fact that you’re eating healthy, whole foods. Enjoy!

You’ll notice that I didn’t give amounts for the main ingredients. Amounts aren’t really needed in this recipe, make as much or as little as you want. One pound of brussel sprouts will generally feed about four people. Add as much mushrooms and beef as you like.

To make the Horseradish Cream Sauce: add all of the ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and mix with a spoon. Taste and properly season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the halved brussel sprouts with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Roast for about 10-15 minutes, flipping once. You want a nice golden brown color to appear on the brussels. When they are nearly done and have nice color, add the mushrooms and beef to the pan and roast for a few more minutes until they are heated through and the mushrooms begin to shrink in size. Remove from pan. Place onto a serving dish and top with the horseradish cream sauce immediately (so it can warm slightly) and hazelnuts. Enjoy!

We have had a busy couple of weeks, in the most wonderful way. We went on an epic vacation to Disney World with our extended family. There were twelve of us in all– six adults and six children– and it was fantastic, I’m more than a little sad that this long-planned trip has now come and gone. Luckily, the transition back to our normal lives here in Minnesota was pretty easy. We’re having a beautiful fall, with stunning colors and perfect temperatures. October is my favorite month anyway, and this one is living up to every expectation I’ve ever had. Both of my sweet little ones celebrate birthdays this month– which makes me love it even more.

As for that getting back into the swing of things, we went to a neighborhood potluck last night where our friends smoked an impressive 36 pounds of pork. It was ridiculously delicious! I made this autumnal dish for the get-together and received some nice comments, so I figured I’d share it with you as well. It’s a cross between a side dish or a salad, or maybe even a main course. Let’s just call it food, shall we? It has a wonderful feel of fall to it and contains some of my favorite things. I fancy rice and squash as a combination, and a few of you may remember this dish from last year? This time I went with the nutty, toothsome, wild rice. I’ve been tossing it into soups and salads whenever I can. I also stocked up on Winter squash at the farmers market yesterday, so I figured I’d add some in as well.

Then I decided to make this delicious citrus curry dressing to pour on top of everything. I’d been dreaming about this dressing after having recently gone out to lunch with a couple girlfriends. This dressing was on all of our salads and it was insanely delicious. (No worries, ladies– I think I’ve got it down. Or something very close and fantastically delicious in it’s own right.) The dressing’s base is orange juice that has been reduced to amp up its flavor. The curry addition makes it unique and almost addictive. Bite after bite, you’ll keep wanting more. I also decided to add some kale into the mix, since I had a bit left from my final CSA box. I massaged it first with a tiny drizzle of olive oil and salt for about 3-5 minutes. Massaging kale helps it soften a bit, and in this dish, it is worth the little extra effort.

I came across some wonderful honey goat cheese at our co-op and knew it would work perfectly in this dish. Wow! There is a smidge of honey in the dressing, so it tied in beautifully. Of course regular goat cheese would work fine, too. I topped the dish with coarsely-chopped roasted and salted hazelnuts, but walnuts or even almonds would serve the purpose, too. Anything that provides a little crunch for texture. The dish can be served warm, but I prefer it at room temperature. Which makes it a perfect make-ahead dish for the holidays. Hope you are all doing well– enjoy!

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the diced butternut squash on a large rimmed baking sheet and coat with a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for about 20-25 minutes, or until tender. Turn the squash once while roasting. The amount of roasting time will depend on how big or small the squash pieces were cubed, so keep a watchful eye. Remove from oven when tender and let cool a bit. Squash that is really hot is fragile and will fall apart more easily.

Meanwhile, rinse the wild rice in water and place into a large saucepan with 4 cups of cold water a little salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. The rice should be tender after about 45 minutes. Then drain the remaining water and fluff with a fork. Let cool for a bit. This method uses a bit more water than usual, but helps in that you don’t have to keep such a watchful eye so it doesn’t burn.

To make the dressing, begin by placing the orange juice into a small saucepan and reduce (uncovered) over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, or until 1/3 cup orange juice remains. Stir often. Let cool. Then you may begin making the dressing by using one of two methods.The first method uses an immersion blender (which I couldn’t live without). Place all of the dressing ingredients into a tall cylinder shaped container (my blender came with one) and pulse a few times with an immersion blender until the dressing is uniform and well blended. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can simply use the bowl and whisk method to make the dressing (or even shake in a lidded jar). Add all of the ingredients to the bowl, except the olive oil. Mix together, and then slowly whisk in the olive oil. Season with kosher salt and cracked pepper. You may be surprised that you’ll have to add a bit of salt to bring out the flavor of the dressing.

Add the coarsely chopped kale to a medium-sized bowl and drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil and salt. Massage kale for a few minutes until it is tender and has wilted a bit.

When all of the ingredients are ready, add them to a huge serving platter or bowl. Pour half of the dressing over everything and gently mix. Taste. Add more dressing if you like. Season with salt and pepper. Then top with crumbled goat cheese and chopped roasted hazelnuts. I prefer this dish at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers. Enjoy!

About once or twice every holiday season, I find myself craving a good ginger cookie. They taste like Fall, perfectly distilled into a little round treat. The warm, earthy spices, the bits of heat from the ginger, along with the unique flavor from the molasses are magical. And since I only eat ginger cookies once or twice a year, I want them to be fantastic– really something special. This, friends, is that class of ginger cookie.

A couple years ago, my friend made these cookies and they blew me away. The little bits of candied ginger really stood out. She pointed me to the recipe and I’ve been making them ever since– with my own tweaks, of course. I actually thought about crafting my own recipe this year, but then realized that there was really not a point. This is the ginger cookie that I want. It’s perfectly crisp on the outside, wonderfully chewy on the inside. It’s spice combination is perfect, and there is just enough molasses to bring it all together without being overpowering. I love this ginger cookie. And it’s even better rolled in demerara or turbinado sugar. The extra crunch from the large granules is key. Also, try it with a light sprinkle of sea salt on the very top. Amazing. And there’s an added bonus– these keep a bit longer than an average cookie, so making them ahead for gift-giving or cookie exchanges is a great option. I hope you enjoy these cookies this holiday season!

The Recipe: Spiced Ginger Cookies

(makes about 30)

2 cups white whole wheat flour

2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped finely

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)

1 large egg (at room temperature)

1/4 cup mild-flavored molasses

Some sort of raw sugar for rolling, Turbinado or Demerara work well

Whisk togetherthe flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Next, sift them together. This will get rid of any lumps that ground spices sometimes form. Stir in the crystallized ginger. Set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or by hand), cream the butter and brown sugar together for about 3 minutes on medium speed or until light and fluffy. Next, add the egg and molasses to the mixture and continue to mix on medium speed for another 2-3 minutes. It is integral in any cookie recipe to cream the butter,sugar, and egg together long enough.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowland mix until just fully incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. When the dough is chilled, roll it out into balls ( I used a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop) and roll them into the raw sugar. Press down slightly ( but not too much) to flatten them a bit– or else they’ll end up being fairly puffy cookies. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes on the pan, then move to a cooling rack. They keep well for days in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Like this:

I know it’s a bit much to say that these are the best apple bars that exist in the world. But the truth is, I’ve never had better. These are the apple bars that I grew up with– the ones that my Mom made. I begged for these beauties throughout my childhood. And I haven’t found a better apple bar in the last 30 years.

This is almost identical to recipe that my Mom used– it still has the wonderful unique qualities that make these bars so good. There are crushed cornflakes on the bottom layer, which may sound a bit odd. But they add something amazing– something magical– to the texture of the bars. I wouldn’t say it’s a “crunch”, but whatever it is, it’s necessary. The meringue is still there, too. Meringue on apple bars isn’t standard, but on these it adds a little wow-factor in both appearance and texture. I sometimes increase the amount of meringue, because my daughter and I fancy it so much.

The one thing that I did change about the recipe is substituting butter for the shortening that my Mom used. I’ve actually made them both ways in order to see if using shortening was worth it (I don’t generally cook with shortening). I used a butter-flavored shortening for comparison, and while it did lack a bit in flavor, it also made for a sturdier crust. In the end, I decided that butter was the better option. The crust is still amazing, and I’d rather put good, quality butter into my kids’ diet than shortening. So, you can decide which route you want to go– either way will make an amazing apple bar.

A side note: I’ve been a mother for seven years as of yesterday. This sweet boy has brought so much joy to my life. He’s an old soul, a funny trickster, and has a huge heart. I’ve loved every day with him. Happy Birthday to our sweet Aanen!

1 egg yolk in a measuring cup, then filled with milk to reach 2/3 cup total

For the Filling:

about 9 medium apples (or more), thickly sliced

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of kosher salt

1 cup coarsely crushed cornflakes

1-2 egg whites (depending upon how much meringue you like)

For the Icing:

about 1 cup powdered sugar

splash of milk

To Make the Dough: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, and salt together. Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter until it is crumbly (it should resemble small peas). Then, use a fork to mix in the egg yolk and milk mixture. Mix until all of the dry ingredients are wet. Put the mixture onto a flour surface and knead a couple of times and divide into two. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours. (Follow these photos, if you feel the need for visual help.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel and slice the apples. You may need more or less apples depending upon the size of them. You’ll want enough apples to fill the pan to the top. In a medium bowl, toss the apples, cinnamon, sugar, and a pinch of salt together.

On a lightly floured surface, roll one ball of dough out to fit into a 9 x 13 x 1 inch pan. It should hang over the edge just a bit. Sprinkle the crushed cornflakes onto the pan. Then top with the apples. Roll out the other ball of dough to fit on the top. Fold the two layers of dough together along the edge and then press together with a fork to prevent leaking. Meanwhile, using a stand mixer, or handheld, beat the egg white(s) until somewhat stiff. Gently place the egg whites on the top of the bars. This can be somewhat unruly and you may have to use your fingers. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the crust is a deep golden brown. Make sure the meringue doesn’t get too dark. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Mix the powdered sugar and milk together and drizzle over the bars. These bars are best eaten within the first two days. Store leftovers underneath a tea towel. Enjoy!

Thank you so much for stopping by Relishing It! Have a wonderful weekend.

Like this:

The end of our summer. I honestly don’t know whether to jump for joy or curl up into a ball and sulk. My boy starts school next week– first grade. He isn’t dreading school this year– unlike the last two– when he saw it only as a limitation on ‘play time’. That’s not to say that he didn’t love school. He did, once he got there. But he has serious home-body tendencies that can be a bit…difficult to overcome sometimes. Now the prospect of making new friends has him excited. And my baby, Aria, starts the following week in pre-kindergarten. She is so excited. She has Aanen’s previous teacher, whom we all adore. Aria starting school really brings out mixed emotions in me. Joy because I’ll finally get to enjoy an hour or two of quiet each day. Aria is a talker. Nonstop. Really. She’s a relentless, wonderful hurricane. A true sensing extrovert on the Meyers-Briggs scale. The other three of us are the opposite. But even though I’ll get to enjoy some quiet, I’m also a bit panicked. Not having my baby at home reminds me just how fast time is passing. And to add to my melancholy of another season ending, and my kids off to school, I turned 39 on Monday. Time. It just rolls on.

It’s very strange, because it’s not just the days, or even years that are flying past. It’s the decades! I don’t feel 39 years old, but somehow it just happened. I’ll turn around tomorrow and my kids will be off to college. But to be brutally honest, my kids growing up, and me aging isn’t what really hurts. No, the most painful realization is that my parents are aging right along with us. It seems like just yesterday that I’d watch my dad play softball, goofing off on the pitcher’s mound or galloping around the bases like a kid. Strange to think that that was 20 years ago. The fact is, they’re getting older. And while they’re both still doing great and keeping busy, they’re slowing down. Through a daughter’s eyes…I can tell. I know I can’t do anything about it, but I really don’t want the next 20 years to pass as quickly as the last have. I need time to slow a bit, so I can savor every moment with my loved ones.

It feels a bit strange to delve into such deep issues here on a food blog, but there it is. I guess if there’s a tie-in to Relishing It, it’s that working in the kitchen soothes me. It’s my balm, so to speak. This week a kind neighbor offered up her gorgeous apple tree– free for the picking. Aria and I gathered a huge box-ful, which I’ve turned into several apple galettes. I’ve written before here about my love for galettes. They’re perfect in that un-perfect, rustic way. I like my apple desserts with just a hint of cinnamon and not much else. I want to taste the apples. I also like to add a drizzle of icing to apple galettes that I normally don’t with other fruits, since the apples don’t have that beautiful sheen that you get with a berry or peach galette. The icing makes it look so much more appealing, and adds a subtle sweetness. Enjoy!

Follow the instructions for making the All-Butter Pie Crust. After it has chilled for at least 2 hours, it will be ready for use.

Peel and slice,not too thick (so they bake properly) and not too thin (so they don’t turn to mush) the apples. Place into a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Then add the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Toss again. Set aside.

Roll the pie dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Lightly dust parchment and rolling pin with flour. Roll the pie dough into a 12-inch circle. Place the apples and juices into the center. Place the butter pieces on top of the apples. Gently flip the edges over the apples. Pinch the seams together as much as possible, to prevent leaking while baking. Using a pastry brush, apply the egg wash to the dough. Then sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Gently pat down the apples so they are somewhat level– this will prevent the peaks from burning.

Bake for about 40 minutes,or until the crust is a beautiful golden brown and the apples are tender. Keep an eye on the apples in the final minutes, so they don’t get too dark. Remove from oven and let cool. Mix the glaze to your desired consistency and drizzle over the galette when cool. Enjoy!